Army pulls out historic win

Thursday

Feb 28, 2013 at 2:00 AM

WEST POINT — Ella Ellis was too hyped up, too pumped on senior night on Wednesday at Christl Arena. He was Army's senior standout surrounded by a bunch of kids. It was supposed to be his night. It had to be his night for the Black Knights to record one of their biggest wins in years.

Kevin Gleason

WEST POINT — Ella Ellis was too hyped up, too pumped on senior night on Wednesday at Christl Arena. He was Army's senior standout surrounded by a bunch of kids. It was supposed to be his night. It had to be his night for the Black Knights to record one of their biggest wins in years.

Then Ellis went out and bricked 8-of-11 shots in the first half. He went scoreless for the first 16:34, looked like he was trying to will shots into the bucket. Some of them weren't even close.

"I was kind of emotional in the beginning of the game,'' Ellis said afterward. "Coach came over and talked to me and said that I'm not a player that is defined by how many points I score.''

Maybe not, but Ellis' scoring sure helps define the Army Black Knights. And on this night, with so much at stake before a spirited crowd led by fellow cadets, Ellis again symbolized the talent and grit of the Army basketball team.

He scored 23 points in the second half to finish with 31, his second 30-point game in three contests, as Army beat Holy Cross 69-62. He never panicked before finally discovering his shot in those final minutes of the first half, a half Army led 30-28 despite shooting 33 percent. Ellis was only 4-for-8 shooting after halftime, but he finished 13-of-13 from the foul line.

Ellis and Army simply found a way to clinch their first .500-or-better season in 28 years. The Black Knights (15-13, 8-5 Patriot), also clinching their first Patriot League winning season, play Saturday at Lehigh in the regular-season finale before opening the league tournament on Wednesday.

"It's definitely fun and exciting,'' Ellis said, "but at the same time, coach talks about us not being done yet.''

Absolutely not. Army has the mental and physical toughness required to beat anybody in this league.

Look at Army's fifth straight league win, another first for the Black Knights. They shot 35 percent, the first game they won all season shooting below 40 percent. Until Wednesday, they were 0-10 when the opponent shot a higher percentage. Make it 1-10 after Army squeaked out the win despite Holy Cross shooting 47.8 percent.

"You look at the numbers,'' Army coach Zach Spiker said, "and I'm not sure how we won.''

Oh he knows how they won. "There is a lot of toughness in our players,'' Spiker said. "In large part, that has to do with Ella Ellis. Once he got out of that fog a little bit with a few minutes left in the first half, he was as good as anybody on the court.

"If you were to tell me how a guy should play on senior night, this was it.''

The kids came up with some big plays, as well.

Senior Jordan Springer dragged around a couple bum shoulders and, on one occasion, grabbed a one-armed rebound. But it was Ella Ellis' night in the final 23:26. Ellis' night. Army's night.